By ANDREW KEH

June 13, 2014

NATAL, Brazil — The rain was relentless, descending in thick sheets to turn this city’s glistening new soccer stadium into an overstuffed water park. The officiating was contentious, as two apparent goals were canceled within a 20-minute span in the first half.

By the second half, the lush field resembled a two-acre Slip ’N Slide, and Oribe Peralta put it to good use in the 61st minute, gliding along the surface on his knees and raising his arms in the air to celebrate what would hold up as the decisive goal.

“The boys gave their all,” said Mexico Coach Miguel Herrera. “They left their souls on the field.”

It was the team’s best performance under Herrera, who was named as coach late last year, and a hugely important win for the players, who want to put the embarrassment of their erratic qualification campaign behind them and advance this summer to what their fans often refer to as the World Cup’s “fifth game.” In each of the past five World Cups, the team has been eliminated after four games, in the Round of 16, creating a frustrating pattern.

Mexico was dominant Friday, but it seemed possible that a win might still elude them. Giovani dos Santos, who was named man of the match, celebrated two goals in the first half, only to see the linesman Humberto Clavijo of Colombia raise his flag to signal offside both times.

In the 11th minute, dos Santos volleyed in a cross from Hector Herrera, and replays showed that he was level with the last defender.

In the 30th minute, a Mexico corner kick was redirected by a Cameroon defender into the path of dos Santos, who flicked it into the net with his head from close range. But Clavijo, apparently thinking a Mexico player had knocked the ball to dos Santos, negated that one, too.

Dos Santos would be instrumental in creating the breakthrough. In the second half, he slipped into the penalty box, latching onto a diagonal pass, and shot across his body toward the left post. Cameroon’s goalkeeper, Charles Itandje, pounced out and stopped the shot with his right hand, but the ball spilled back out into danger, and Peralta, who had continued his long trailing run, easily slotted the ball between the posts with the inside of his left foot.

“He knows when to be in the area, when to come for the ball,” said defender Miguel Layún, who spent the afternoon racing up and down the left touchline. “I think he’s one of the best players we have, and we have to let him play and score goals.”

Layún joked that the weather caught him off guard, and it was an uncharacteristically bleak day in Natal, a popular tourist destination on Brazil’s northeast coast that boasts an average of around 300 sunny days a year. Heavy rain fell diagonally throughout the day, drenching the grass, players and many of the spectators.

The petal-shaped, uneven structure of the roof — designed by the American architecture firm Populous to evoke Natal’s sand dunes — covers portions of the stands at Arena das Dunas, but most spectators were exposed to the steady rain. Fans at halftime retreated to the covered concourses to wring the water from their clothing. But huge puddles had formed near the protected seats and concession areas, too, as a result of some apparent leaks.

“It’s obvious they weren’t ready for the weather,” said John Sharp-Paul, a spectator from Melbourne, Australia. “There was one part of the roof where all the rainwater was getting funneled onto this poor person below.”

Many in the stands did not seem to mind. The crowd was crammed with expectant Mexico supporters, who had traveled to Natal in huge numbers and were percolating in team colors through the city’s beachside pubs and restaurants during the week.

Cameroonian midfielder Eyong Enoh said it felt like the game was taking place in Mexico, and the play reflected that. Fans yelled “Olé!” as Mexico tapped the ball around the sodden field. Mexico’s wingbacks, Layún and Paul Aguilar, took advantage of the considerable space Cameroon’s defense conceded to them. In Miguel Herrera’s system, the two essentially become attacking midfielders in transition.

“Their tactical formation was difficult for us,” Enoh said. “They played with five in the middle and we had just three. It made them have more possession and keep the ball, and it made us run a lot.”

Cameroon, save for a brief bright stretch midway through the first half and a few desperate runs in the final minutes, looked toothless. In the 89th minute, forward Benjamin Moukandjo directed a looping header toward goal that forced a leaping save from goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

Otherwise, Mexico looked comfortable, keeping possession for 58 percent of the game. It was an impressive showing from a team trying to validate its lofty ambition. Mexico’s next challenge will come when it plays Brazil on Tuesday in Fortaleza.

“We know we have a very good team, and we want to make history,” forward Javier Hernández said. “We know, we feel, we are capable of beating any national team here.”

WORLD CUP BRAZIL; Was It a Penalty? The Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura’s
decision to give Fred of Brazil a penalty kick on
Thursday drew criticism. But FIFA declined to fault
him, and Fred said, “It was a clear penalty.”